Sony Pictures has just acquired the rights to Valiant Comics character, Bloodshot.

The protagonist of Bloodshot is Angelo Mortalli, a ruthless killer for the mob who is set up by the family and framed for a murder. He instead goes into Witness Protection, but is betrayed by an FBI agent guarding him, kidnapped and forcibly subjected to an experimental program in which his body is injected with microscopic computers called nanites.

They erase his brain and rebuild it and his body to be a weapon with superhuman strength and healing powers, known as Bloodshot. Bloodshot eventually escapes his makers and their control. He then seeks revenge on all who wronged him, and even though he is no longer the same person he once was, he tries to find his old identity and answers about his past.

The character of Bloodshot originated as a character for Valiant Comics in 1992 and appeared in over 70 issues, becoming the cornerstone of the Valiant Universe. Valiant was a leading comic company from 1992-1994, bringing unheard of competition for the two largest comic companies in the world, Marvel and DC. Unfortunately in 1994 investors pulled out of the company and it was sold to Acclaim Entertainment, who decided that the comics should no longer published, leaving the properties in limbo for almost 20 years.

Recently, investors Jason Kothari and Dinesh Shamdasani acquired all the rights to the Valiant Comics library from Acclaim Entertainment’s estate and formed Valiant Entertainment. This is good news for Valiant fans, as they are set to relaunch their titles in May of 2012, and are looking at Bloodshot as the first of many forays into film.

Neal Moritz (Fast Five) will produce through his Original Film Banner along with Kothari and Shamdasani.

The film currently has a spec script written by Jeff Wadlow (Cry Wolf).